International Adoption

When citizens of one country, adopt a child from another country, they must go through required legal procedures in both countries. International adoptions are governed by U.S. federal and state laws, in addition to the laws of the country where the child is a citizen. The procedure is highly regulated to safeguard the welfare of the child and ensure that a child can legally be adopted. Further, since the U.S. is part of the Hague Convention, certain additional laws must be followed. Your personal demographic profile will determine those countries that will allow you to adopt. Current statistics concerning international adoptions by U.S. citizens are available from the U.S. State Department. U.S. citizens adopt thousands of children internationally each year.

Conditions and Prerequisites for Adopting

Each country has its own conditions and prerequisites for adoptive families. In addition to the legal challenges previously specified, the demographic characteristics of adopting parents are often a deciding factor on where you can adopt. Many countries specify marital status, parental age limits, minimum length of time married, number of marriages, and age difference between the adoptive parents and child. Since 2004, the number of international adoptions has fallen, as a growing number of countries no longer permit foreign adoptions and as the process has become more difficult and costly for potential adopting parents. Despite the new challenges, there are many countries that still allow their orphaned children to be adopted.

International Adoption Certificate Translations

24 Hour Translation prides itself on providing world-class translation services for the adoption process. All of our full-time translators have a proven track record of more than 5 years in providing professional certified and notarized translations in the language they translate into and hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, with many holding a Master’s degree and a law degree. We are competent in translating birth certificates, adoption certificates, medical records and home studies. We will help you make the adoption process as painless as possible and the cost will be very affordable.